The attractiveness of graphene arises from its low cost, transparency, high electrical conductivity, chemical robustness, and flexibility, as opposed to the rising cost and brittleness of FTO. In particular, graphene is emerging as a possible substitute for FTO in flexible displays, touch screens, and solar cells. The main goal of our work is to develop new conductive oxide free graphene-based counter electrodes for dye sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). Graphene nanoplates are modified by silane coupling agent to introduce vinyl groups, and then mixed with polyurethane adhesive and cast on glass substrate. The film is irradiated by UV source and heat treated under Ar/H2. A network graphene film is formed and tightly bonded on glass substrate with enhanced electrical conductivity. The structure of network graphene is investigated by XPS, TGA and SEM. The DSSCs with network graphene counter electrode exhibit power conversion efficiencies of 9.33%, much better than those with FTO electrodes (4.05%).
A low-cost and efficient MoS 2 /graphite paper (GP) counter electrode for dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs) is first fabricated by a simple and effective solution processed route. Photo-electric conversion efficiency of 6.48% is obtained for the DSSC adopting MoS 2 /GP, better than the device (6.22%) employing platinized F-doped tin oxide (Pt/FTO) electrode. Because highly conductive GP is performed as a substrate, and the mechanical adhesion and electrical connection between the MoS 2 film and the GP substrate are strong, the series resistance of MoS 2 /GP is much smaller than that of Pt/FTO. A comparable charge transfer resistance of MoS 2 /GP to Pt/FTO is found to be another factor for the better performance. Due to the MoS 2 prepared here possessing relatively high crystallinity and firmly being anchored on the GP substrate, MoS 2 /GP as well exhibits high stability. Hence, excellent electrochemical activity, high stability, facile preparation and low material cost of the MoS 2 /GP electrode offer it a promising potential for large-scale production.
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